Card holder



March 27, 1934. M 5|M0N 1,952,732

CARD HOLDER Original Filed Nov. 7. 1931 llll ll'llll llllln "Ulllll IH!HH HIHI- lll lll Inu :mul I-u llllll UH' IH Patented Mar. 27, 1934UNITED STATES 1,952,732 CARD HOLDER.

Max Simon, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 7, 1931, Serial No. 573,552 Renewed September 27,1933 7 Claims. (Cl. 129-20) This invention relates to a card holder` andhas special reference to a device for holding and displaying printedmatter such as menu cards.

More particularly, this invention relates to a card holder comprising apair of hinged covers consisting of outer backing members and innertransparent iiap members for receiving therebetween a printed card, eachof the flap members being permanently secured at one end to the backingmember and being removably positioned at the other free end thereof in apocket formed in the backing member. Also, a short strip of preferablytransparent material is secured adjacent the above noted flap member bythe securing means for the latter to hold removably therebetween one endof a loose leaf card or paper. Y

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a card holderwhich will maintain 20` a menu card or other printed matter in a cleanand sanitary condition and prevent the same from becoming mutilated andsoiled through handling. In the case of menu cards for which the deviceof this invention is particularly adapted and in connection with whichthe same will hereinafter be more fully described, it is customary forrestaurants to offer a regular or seasonal menu and a daily menu. Theseasonal menu is changed monthly or several times during the year, whilethe daily menu is changed perhaps for every meal or at least once a day.

The regular or seasonal menu is prepared as attractively as possible andnecessitates workmanship of high character and is, therefore, quiteexpensive to produce. In order to prolong the life of these cards to amaximum, they are inserted between the transparent sheet or flap and thepreferably opaque backing member for more or less permanent use, thebacking member being preferably formed of a stiffener having aleatherette or cloth covering coated with lacquer so that it may bewashable. The transparent flap is formed of Celluloid, or like material,and is likewise washable, thereby providing a sanitary holder. However,the daily menu, because of its impermanence is usually prepared at theplace of business on a mimeograph or like duplicating machine in orderto cut the cost thereof to a minimum so that after a single use they maybe discarded.

Besides the matters of sanitation and expense recited above, itsconvenience determines to a great extent its utility. For example,shouldvthe specials on the daily menu give out during the' mealtimerush, the present invention provides a very simple manner of removingsuch specials from the menu, there being no permanent securing means ortemporary fasteners requiring manual manipulatiomit being only necessaryto exert a pull on the card or paper. It would, therefore, only requirebut substantially the time it would take to walk from table to table inorder to remove all of the special menus from the holders, therebyproviding a great convenience of operation and saving of time. Also, inassembling the menu specials to the holder, it is but necessary toinsert one end of the paper or card between the transparent strip andthe transparent flap to be held in position by the frictiontherebetween, which action takes but a minimumof time. Also, it isconvenient to remove the regular menu sheets since the free end of theflaps are merely inserted in pockets at the lower end which may bereadily removed therefrom for access to the menu.

The card positioned between the transparent flap and the opaque backingmember is held from sidewise displacement by means of a strip of verysmall width held in position bythe transparent flap which overlaps thesame.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a card holder forholding and displaying printed matter such as menu cards in which thelatter are conveniently assembled therein and removed therefrom.

Another object of this invention is to` provide a device, such as ischaracterized above, that is attractiveV in appearance, comparativelyinexpensive to manuafctureand sanitary.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter be more fully pointed outand for a more complete understanding of the characteristic features ofthis invention, reference may now be had to the following descriptionwhen taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which latter:

Figure 1 is a face view of the cardholder of this invention showing thehinged covers spread apart and the menu cards in position therein;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational View of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 3 3of Figure 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l,showing a central portion thereof broken away; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing a fragmentary portion ofthe upper left hand corner with parts thereof broken away to show moreparticularly the elements entering into the construction.

Referring now more particularly to the drawilo ing, J@he device of thisinvention comprises a pair of hinged covers 10 and 11 consisting of anouter preferably opaque member 12 and an inner transparent member 13. itwill, of course, be understood that the outer member 12 may be formed ofa transparent material, but it is preferable, in order to reduce thecost of upkeep to a minimum, that this member be not transparent inorder to obviate the necessity for decorative printing on the outer sideof the menu card.

The outer opaque member may comprise a stiiening member such ascardboard, or the like, covered with a cloth, leatheroid or otherpreferably exible material, the latter material being, in the presentinstance, glued to the stiffener. Referring more particularly to Fig. 4of the drawing, the flexible covering secured to the backing member 12may be turned back at each end to form pockets 14 and 15. One end of thetransparent ap 13 is inserted into the pocket 15 and is permanentlyfastened thereto as by means of the stitching 16. The other free end ofthe transparent flap member 13 is inserted into the pocket 14 and isremovably held in position thereby. A strip 17 preferably of transparentmaterial of the same character as the transparent flap 13 is inserted inthe pocket 15 on the outside of and adjacent the transparent strip 13and is held in position by the stitching 16, the strip extending out ofthe pocket a short distance. lit is to be understood that a plurality ofstrips such as the strip 17 of any or varying lengths may be disposed inthis relation as desired for temporarily positioning printed matter.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3, the outer edge of the cover1l is provided with a flap 18 which is preferably formed of the flexiblecovering for the stiiener of the opaque backing member, although it maybe a separately formed member, the flap extending from the backingmember and in a direction inwardly toward the hinge for the covermembers. A flap 18 is also provided on the outer edge of the cover 10 inthe same manner as hereinbefore described with reference to cover 11, itbeing noted that it is only necessary to provide these flaps on theouter edges, although, if desired, provision is made whereby the nap 19,which in this instance is glued to the mat 20, may be left free to actin the same capacity.

When it is desired to position a card, such as the menu card 21 in theholder, the main body of the transparent sheet 13 is buckled and thefree end thereof is pulled from the pocket 14 and the menu card isplaced on the mat 20 which, for appearance, is preferably of coloredpaper or cloth contrasting to the color of the cover, one edge of thecard being placed over the flap 18. After the menu card has been thuspositioned, the free end of the flap 13 is inserted into the pocket 14as shown in an initial position in Figure 1 on the left hand side of theligure, the flap on the right hand side being shown in position. The ap13 is moved into position to hold the flap 18 against the menu card, theflap 13 holding the main body of the card in position by reason of itsoverlying relation therewith. The menu card is thusentirely envelopedand held in a sanitary condition obviating its being mutilated or soiledthrough handling the holder.

The daily menu sheet 22 suggesting the specials offered patrons is nextinserted in position by means of sliding one end of the menu sheetunderneath either of the flaps 17. There may be two of these sheets ofspecials or any other desired number whereby one may be placed betweeneach strip 17 on each cover. These sheets may be removed veryconveniently at the end of each meal and replaced with other specialsfor succeeding meals.

As a result of this invention, a card holder is provided having meansfor positioning a more or less or permanent menu for seasonal foods andmeans for conveniently holding for ready removal and replacementspecials for each meal. Both menus may be readily removed or replacedwith great facility and lends itself toward a saving in time andpatience. Because of its simplicity, ie devicev may be inexpensivelyproduced and is very durable. The device may be readily cleaned and keptin a sanitary condition besides providing sanitation for the cards whichare held in position therein. The device is economical because itminimizes reprinting of menu cards which, if not held in holders of thischaracter, become mutilated, soiled, and destroyed in a short length oftime.

`While but a single embodiment of this invention is herein shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various modications thereof maybe apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention and, therefore, the same is only tobe limited by the scope of the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A card holder comprising a relatively stiff flat backing member, aflexible transparent flap member overlying said backing member forretaining a card therebetween, said iiap member being secured at one endthereof to said backing member, and a strip secured to said backingmember forming a pocket for removably receiving and frictionally holdingthe free end of said flap member.

2. A card holder comprising a backing member, a plurality of superposedtransparent flap members having contacting surfaces and secured tightlytogether at one of the ends thereof to and overlying said backingmember, and means on 120 said backing member for frictionally holdingthe free end of one of said flap members to retain a card therebetween,the remaining ap members providing a frictional means therebetween forholdingother cards in position in said holder.

3. A card holder comprising a backing member, a plurality of superposedtransparent flap members having contacting surfaces and secured tightlytogether at one of the ends thereof to and overlying said backing memberof different lengths, and means on said backing member for frictionallyholding the free end of one of said flap members to retain a cardtherebetween, the remaining ap members providing a frictional meanstherebetween for holding other cards in position in said holder.

4. A card holder comprising a backing member, a pair of superposedtransparent flap members of differentrlengths having contacting surfacesand secured tightly together at the ends 140 thereof to and overlyingsaid backing member, and means on said backing member for frictionallyholding the longer said flap member to retain a card therebetween, theother iiap member providing a frictional grip between it and said 145rst mentioned flap member for holding a second card in position.

5. A card holder comprising a backing member, a plurality of superposedflap members having contacting surfaces secured tightly together 150 atone of the ends thereof to and overlying said backing member, at leastone of said ap members being transparent, and means on said backingmember for removably receiving and frictionally holding the free end ofsaid transparent ap member to retain a card therebetween, the remainingflap members providing a frictional means for holding other cards inposition therebetween.

6. A card holder comprising a backing member, a transparent ap membersecured adjacent to one end and overlying said backing member, meansadjacent the other end of said backing member for holding the free endof said transparent ap member to retain a card therebetween, and a stripsecured adjacent one edge of said backing member for overlying the edgeof said card, said transparent member holding said strip in positionagainst said card.

7. A card holder comprising a backing member, a pair of superposed flapmembers of different lengths having contacting surfaces and secured atone of their ends to one end of and overlying said backing member, oneof said flap members being transparent, means adjacent the other end ofsaid backing member for frictionally holding the free end of saidtransparent flap member to retain a card therebetween, and a stripsecured adjacent at least one edge of said backing member for overlyingthe edge of said card, said transparent member holding said strip inposition against said card, the other flap member being adapted tofrictionally grip another card between it and said first flap member.

MAX SIMON.

